Uptake of munitions materiels (TNT, RDX) by crop plants and potential interactions of nitrogen nutrition

Conference · Sun Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1995

OSTI ID:225214

Fellows, R J; Harvey, S D; Cataldo, D A ^[1]; Mitchell, W ^[2]

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1. Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA (United States)
2. USABRDL, Ft. Detrick, MD (United States)

Munitions materiel such as trinitrotoluene (TNT) and hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) and their combustion/decomposition products can accumulate/cycle in terrestrial environs. High soil organic matter and fertility have been previously shown to negatively correlate with both TNT or RDX uptake in plants such as grass, wheat, and bean. The present study was therefore conducted using low fertility soil to assess uptake and distribution patterns of C-radiolabelled TNT and RDX (15 and 30 {micro}g/g) within corn (Zea mays), spinach (Spinacea oleraceae), carrot (Daucus carota), and alfalfa (Medicago sativa) grown to maturity in growth chambers. Uptake by the plants at maturity (90- to 120-days) ranged from 1.8 to 2.7% of total amended {sup 14}C-TNT for carrots and corn respectively and 17 to 33% of total amended {sup 14}C-RDX for corn and carrots respectively. Distribution patterns of total radiolabel indicate that the TNT-derived label was primarily retained within the roots (60 to 85%) while the RDX-derived label was distributed to the shoots (85 to 97%). Less than 0.01 {micro}g/g dry wt. TNT was found in all analyzed shoot tissues with > 90% of the TNT-derived radiolabel in the form of polar metabolites. Concentrations of RDX in shoot tissues of corn exceeded 180 {micro}g/g dry wt. Alfalfa grown in unfertilized, fertilized (NO{sub 3}), or unfertilized-inoculated (Rhizobia) soil exhibited a 70 to 100% increase in dry wt. after 45 days in the TNT-amended (15 {micro}g/g) fertilized and unfertilized-inoculated plants versus the controls. A potential TNT/nitrogen interaction will be discussed.

• DOE Contract Number: AC06-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 225214
• Report Number(s): CONF-9511137--; ISBN 1-880611-03-1
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEFENSE
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
56 BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
APPLIED STUDIES
AMMUNITION
BIOLOGICAL ACCUMULATION
CARBON 14 COMPOUNDS
CARROTS
CROPS
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
LAND POLLUTION
MAIZE
NITRO COMPOUNDS
ROOT ABSORPTION
SENSITIVITY
SPINACH
TNT
TRACER TECHNIQUES